I was watching PBS last week (yeah I got me some culture) and there was a Nature episode about Yellowstone National Park at Christmas time. Always on the prowl for vehicle-related stuff, I was intrigued by the tracked transport vehicles that were shown briefly during the show. Back at work the next day I found a boatload of information about these Bombardier R-12s including their history and some recent “green” news about them too.

This is one of the original R-12s from 1953 and still in use today. Photo courtesy of Yellowstone Alpen Guides.

Bombardier builtÂ all of theirÂ snowcoachesÂ in their Quebec manufacturing plant. The company founder patented the rubber belt-drive system for the snowcoach design in 1937. The first model produced was a B-7, seven-passenger unit.

1940 6-wheel variant out on the Canadian snow.

Later 12-passenger vehicles were designated model B-12s and the bodies were built of wood. These were used for winter transport in the Canadian northern climates for many years. Some B-12s are still in service at ski areas. The smaller R-12s such as the Yellowstone vehicles that are stillÂ being used in regular serviceÂ today were also 12-passenger but used an all-steel body. Introduced to the national park in 1955, the R-12 power plant was a 6-cylinder Dodge 251-cu.in. “big block” flathead engine that appeared in U.S.-built Mopar passenger cars until 1954 and Canadian Dodges and Plymouths until ’59. The 116-hp engine supplied the drive torque to 2 large cogged gears, whichÂ drove rubber drive beltsÂ which in turnÂ walkedÂ around 4 bogey wheels on each side.

A restored R-12 in Millinocket, Maine, at the Northern Timber Cruisers Snowmobile Club Antique Museum.